Systems, methods, and media for processing a spreadsheet for storage in a database

ABSTRACT

Generally speaking, systems, methods and media for processing a spreadsheet for storage in a database are disclosed. Embodiments may include a method for processing records of a spreadsheet by receiving a request to process a spreadsheet having a plurality of records for storage in a database. Embodiments may also include accessing a configuration file associated with the spreadsheet and, for each record of the spreadsheet, creating a new business object and populating the new business object based on the record and the configuration file associated with the spreadsheet. Embodiments may also include passing each new business object to a back-end business component for processing. The configuration file may include a name of a business object associated with a record of the spreadsheet, metadata for one or more columns of the spreadsheet, and/or a name of a back-end business component associated with the spreadsheet.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of data processing systems and, inparticular, to systems, methods and media for processing a spreadsheetfor storage in a database, such as by processing spreadsheet recordsinto back-end applications.

BACKGROUND

Personal computer systems are well known in the art. They have attainedwidespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today'smodem society. Personal computers (PCs) may be defined as a desktop,floor standing, or portable microcomputer that includes a system unithaving a central processing unit (CPU) and associated volatile andnon-volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM) and basicinput/output system read only memory (BIOS ROM), a system monitor, akeyboard, one or more flexible diskette drives, a CD-ROM or DVD-ROMdrive, a fixed disk storage drive (also known as a “hard drive”), apointing device such as a mouse, and an optional network interfaceadapter. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems isthe use of a motherboard or system planar to electrically connect thesecomponents together.

Networks such as the Internet and corporate intranets provide amechanism for users to transfer data among computers for informationsharing, workplace collaboration, data collection, etc. Users gainaccess to networks such as the Internet by accessing a web server viapersonal Internet service providers (ISP's), broadband networkconnections, or high speed network connections through office systems.Typically, a user will view Internet or intranet content using a graphicbrowser application such as Microsoft Corporation's Internet Explorer™,Netscape Communication Corporation's Navigator™, Mozilla Foundation'sMozilla, Apple Corporation's Safari™, etc. Browsers, at their most basiclevel of operation, permit users to connect to a given network site,download informational content from that site, and display thatinformation to the user. To view additional information, the userdesignates a new network address (such as by selecting a link) whosecontents then replace the previously displayed information on the user'scomputer display.

Users often interact with an application server of an organization via anetwork. An application server is a server computer in a computernetwork dedicated to running particular software applications such as anorganization's back-end business applications or databases. Anapplication server typically has built-in redundancy, high performance,and support for complex database access. An example application serveris International Business Machine's (IBM®'s) WebSphere® ApplicationServer (WAS) that may serve as middleware to set up, operate, andintegrate e-business applications across multiple computing platformsusing Web technologies. Application servers may utilize, for example, adatabase management system such as IBM®'s DB2® Universal Database orXara Online's (a subsidiary of Xara Group Ltd. of Hemel Hempstead, UK)Web applications to build a database platform or other remotely hostedapplications. These database management systems allow users withappropriate authorization to add or update database records via a userinterface, which is often browser-based.

Users often desire to add or update multiple records in a back-enddatabase. To do so directly, a user may typically enter a user id andpassword and directly access the database to modify the records viaadd/update pages of a user interface of the back-end application. Havingto navigate in the user interface for each record a user would like toupdate, however, can be very time consuming and inefficient.Accordingly, many back-end applications allow users to uploadspreadsheets to add or update multiple records (with each recordindicating a change to the database) in a database simultaneously,reducing the time necessary for users to perform this task when comparedto manual entry. For example, current solutions such as IBM®'s DB2®Universal Database or Xara Online's Web applications allow users toconnect directly to a database back-end to update or add records bysynchronizing the contents of a Microsoft Corporation's® MicrosoftExcel® spreadsheet with the database. For applications with validationor business processes requirements, however, this approach is notsatisfactory.

When validation or business processes requirements exist,synchronization with a spreadsheet using current solutions suffers froma number of drawbacks. One fault of current solutions is that allapplications users who need to add or update records require directaccess to the database, requiring a user id and password for directdatabase access plus assignment of privileges and rights to each one ofthem at the database level, an unwieldy and undesirable solution.Moreover, all validation and business processes would need to be writtenat the database layer, resulting in a solution that is not very portableand is thus inefficient. There is, therefore, a need for an efficientand effective mechanism for processing a spreadsheet for storage in adatabase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problems identified above are in large part addressed by systems,methods and media for processing a spreadsheet for storage in adatabase. Embodiments may include a method for processing records of aspreadsheet that includes receiving a request to process a spreadsheetwith a plurality of records for storage in a database. Embodiments mayalso include accessing a configuration file associated with thespreadsheet and, for each record of the spreadsheet, creating a newbusiness object and populating the new business object based on therecord and the configuration file associated with the spreadsheet.Embodiments may also include passing each new business object to aback-end business component for processing. A further embodiment mayinclude generating the configuration file for the spreadsheet beforeaccessing the configuration file. The configuration file may include aname of a business object associated with each record of thespreadsheet, metadata for one or more columns of the spreadsheet, and/ora name of a back-end business component associated with the spreadsheet.

Another embodiment provides a machine-accessible medium containinginstructions effective, when executing in a data processing system, tocause the system to perform a series of operations for processingrecords of a spreadsheet. The series of operations generally includesreceiving a request to process a spreadsheet having a plurality ofrecords for storage in a database. Embodiments may also include a seriesof operations for accessing a configuration file associated with thespreadsheet and, for each record of the spreadsheet, creating a newbusiness object and populating the new business object based on therecord and the configuration file associated with the spreadsheet.Embodiments may also include a series of operations for passing each newbusiness object to a back-end business component for processing. Afurther embodiment may include a series of operations for generating theconfiguration file for the spreadsheet before accessing theconfiguration file.

A further embodiment provides a spreadsheet record processing system.The spreadsheet record processing system may generally include aspreadsheet interface to access a spreadsheet having one or more recordsand a configuration file database having a configuration file associatedwith the spreadsheet, the configuration file having information relatingto processing of the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet record processingsystem may also include a processing engine in communication with theconfiguration file database and the spreadsheet interface to create andpopulate a new business object based on one of the spreadsheet recordsand the configuration file associated with the spreadsheet. Thespreadsheet record processing system may also include a back-endapplication interface in communication with the processing engine topass the created new business object to a back-end business component ofa back-end application. In a further embodiment, the spreadsheet recordprocessing system may include a configuration file generator to generateand store a configuration file for a spreadsheet based on inputsreceived from a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading thefollowing detailed description and upon reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which, like references may indicate similar elements:

FIG. 1 depicts an environment for a spreadsheet record processing systemwith a spreadsheet record processor according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer systemsuitable for use as a component of the spreadsheet record processingsystem, such as a client computer system or an application server;

FIG. 3 depicts a conceptual illustration of software components of aspreadsheet record processor according to one embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts an example of a flow chart for generating a configurationfile according to one embodiment; and

FIG. 5 depicts an example of a flow chart for processing a spreadsheetby creating and populating business objects for each record of thespreadsheet according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following is a detailed description of example embodiments of theinvention depicted in the accompanying drawings. The example embodimentsare in such detail as to clearly communicate the invention. However, theamount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipatedvariations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to coverall modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within thespirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims. The descriptions below are designed to make such embodimentsobvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Generally speaking, systems, methods and media for processing aspreadsheet for storage in a database are disclosed. Embodiments mayinclude a method for processing records of a spreadsheet by receiving arequest to process a spreadsheet having a plurality of records forstorage in a database. Embodiments may also include accessing aconfiguration file associated with the spreadsheet and, for each recordof the spreadsheet, creating a new business object and populating thenew business object based on the record and the configuration fileassociated with the spreadsheet. Embodiments may also include passingeach new business object to a back-end business component forprocessing. A further embodiment may include generating theconfiguration file for the spreadsheet before accessing theconfiguration file. The configuration file may include a name of abusiness object associated with a record of the spreadsheet, metadatafor one or more columns of the spreadsheet, and/or a name of a back-endbusiness component associated with the spreadsheet.

The system and methodology of the disclosed embodiments provides for aneffective and efficient way of processing records of a spreadsheet. Byautomatically processing the records of a spreadsheet and submittingeach record to application back-end components, existing validation andbusiness process logic of back-end business components may be utilized.

This may allow the use of the same components for validation andbusiness processes execution as if the record was directly enteredthrough the application's user interface, eliminating the need todevelop database-layer validation and business process code. A user mayefficiently include many changes to a database in a spreadsheet and maythus avoid inefficient manual entry of changes. The disclosedembodiments may also include a usability tool to facilitate creation ofa configuration file for a particular spreadsheet by gatheringinformation from a software engineer, potentially resulting in easiergeneration of spreadsheet-specific configuration files by softwareengineers.

While specific embodiments will be described below with reference toparticular configurations of hardware and/or software, those of skill inthe art will realize that embodiments of the present invention mayadvantageously be implemented with other substantially equivalenthardware and/or software systems. Aspects of the invention describedherein may be stored or distributed on computer-readable media,including magnetic and optically readable and removable computer disks,as well as distributed electronically over the Internet or over othernetworks, including wireless networks. Data structures and transmissionof data (including wireless transmission) particular to aspects of theinvention are also encompassed within the scope of the invention.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts an environment for aspreadsheet record processing system with a spreadsheet record processoraccording to one embodiment. In the depicted embodiment, the spreadsheetrecord processing system 100 includes a plurality of client computersystems 102 in communication with an application server 106 via anetwork 104. The application server 106 may contain one or more back-endapplications 116 to provide content, information, or services to bedisplayed to a user of the client computer systems 102. Optionaldatabase 110 may be in communication with the application server 106 forstorage of back-end databases, configuration files, or otherinformation. As will be described in more detail subsequently, a user ofa client computer system 102 may submit a spreadsheet with updates oradditions to database records to a spreadsheet record processor 118 ofthe application server 106 for processing, resulting in an effectivemechanism for processing records of a spreadsheet to update a database.The spreadsheet record processor 118 may be a stand-alone application orsome or all of its components and functionalities may be integrated intoa back-end application 116 or other component.

In the spreadsheet record processing system 100, any of the clientcomputer systems 102, the application server 106, and the database 110may be located at the same location, such as in the same building orcomputer lab, or could be remote. While the term “remote” is used withreference to the distance between the components of the spreadsheetrecord processing system 100, the term is used in the sense ofindicating separation of some sort, rather than in the sense ofindicating a large physical distance between the systems. For example,any of the components of the spreadsheet record processing system 100may be physically adjacent or located as part of the same computersystem in some network arrangements, such as when the application server106 and the database 110 are part of the same computer system.

Client computer system 102 may include one or more personal computers,workstations, servers, mainframe computers, notebook or laptopcomputers, desktop computers, PDAs, set-top boxes, mobile phones,wireless devices, or the like. In some embodiments, client computersystem 102 may be a computer system as described in relation to FIG. 2.The client computer system 102 may be in wired or wireless communicationwith network 104. Each client computer system 102 may include a browser112 to allow a user of the client computer system 102 to access and viewinformation on various network sites and to interact with the userinterface of a back-end application 116 of the application server 106.Browser 112 may be a graphical browser application that allows a user toview Internet or intranet content such as Microsoft Corporation'sInternet Explorer™, Netscape Communication Corporation's Navigator™,Mozilla Foundation's Mozilla, Apple Corporation's Safari™, etc. Using abrowser 112, a user may also interact with the spreadsheet recordprocessor 118 to load a spreadsheet and to request processing of thatspreadsheet by the spreadsheet record processor 118. The client computersystems 102 may also include a spreadsheet application 114, which may bean application such as Microsoft Corporation's® Microsoft Excel®spreadsheet application that performs various computational tasks on atable, or spreadsheet, of information. As used herein, a spreadsheetapplication 114 may perform tasks on a table of information stored in afile, known as a spreadsheet.

Network 104 may be any type or combination of data communicationschannels, such as the Internet, an intranet, a LAN, a WAN, an Ethernetnetwork, a wireless network, a proprietary network, a broadband cablenetwork, or combination thereof. The Internet or other public networkmay be particularly useful as network 104 when the client computersystems 102 are widely distributed from the application server 106 ascommunications between these systems will be facilitated. Similarly, acorporate intranet may serve as network 104 for communications with aninternal corporate computing environment. Those skilled in the art willrecognize, however, that the invention described herein may beimplemented utilizing any type of data communications channel orcombinations of data communication channels.

Application server 106 may be a server computer in a computer networkdedicated to running particular software applications such as anorganization's back-end applications 116, such as back-end businessapplications or databases. Application server 106 may be one or more ofany type of computer system, including servers, personal computers,workstations, mainframe computers, notebook or laptop computer, desktopcomputers, or the like. In some embodiments, the application server 106may be a computer system as described in relation to FIG. 2. Applicationserver 106 may meet standards such as Java Platform, Enterprise Edition(Java EE™, formerly known as J2EE™) by Sun Microsystems, Inc. An exampleapplication server is International Business Machine's (IBM®'s)WebSphere® Application Server (WAS) that may serve as middleware to setup, operate, and integrate e-business applications across multiplecomputing platforms using Web technologies. Application servers mayutilize, for example, a database management system such as IBM®'s DB2®)Universal Database or Xara Online's (a subsidiary of Xara Group Ltd. ofHemel Hempstead, UK) Web applications to build a database platform orother remotely hosted applications. These database management systemsallow users with appropriate authorization to add or update databaserecords via a user interface, which is often browser-based.

Application server 106 may include one or more back-end applications 116and a spreadsheet record processor 118. Back-end (or backend)applications 116 may be any application that may be used to provideservices, content, or information to a user at a remote client computersystem 102, and may include back-end business components such asbusiness applications or back-end databases. The back-end applications116 may optionally store information on database 110. As described inmore detail in relation to FIGS. 3 and 5, the spreadsheet recordprocessor 118 may receive a request to process a spreadsheet to aparticular back-end business component of a back-end application 116 andmay then proceed to process that spreadsheet using the requestedback-end application 116. To process the records of a spreadsheet, thespreadsheet record processor 118 may sequentially process each record ofthe spreadsheet by referencing a configuration file associated with thatspreadsheet. A spreadsheet record processor 118 may accordingly generatea business object based on the configuration file and the particularrecord, and may next pass the record to the appropriate back-endapplication 116 for processing and updating of its database. Thedisclosed system may therefore advantageously utilize existing businessprocesses or validation code built into the back-end application 116without having to create new database-layer business processes orvalidation logic. In some embodiments, the spreadsheet record processor118 may also include a usability tool to assist users in generatingconfiguration files for a particular spreadsheet, as described in moredetail in relation to FIG. 4.

In one example, a member of a human resources (HR) department of a largeorganization may wish to update various types of employee information inHR back-end applications 116, such as when employees join theorganization. In this example, the HR employee may include theappropriate changes in a spreadsheet, such as a spreadsheet configuredto include information about new employees such as name, Social-Securitynumber, start date, supervisor name, and the like. The HR employee mayrequest processing of the spreadsheet from the spreadsheet recordprocessor 118. The spreadsheet record processor 118 may then processeach entry, create and populate a business object based on each entry,and submit each new business object to the appropriate back-endapplication 116 and component. In this example, the spreadsheet recordprocessor 118 may process the new employee spreadsheet and pass eachbusiness object to an employee HR back-end application 116. The employeeHR back-end application 116 may perform validation and/or businessprocesses on each entry, such as by validating that the user hasauthority to add new employees, notifying payroll of the new employee,notifying security of the new employee, etc. These validation andbusiness processes may be performed by the back-end application 116 asif the data was submitted through its user interface, eliminating theneed to special code to handle spreadsheet-based entries. Using thedisclosed system, a user may thus efficiently update back-end databaseswhile validation and business processes are still maintained.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system200 suitable for use as a component of the spreadsheet record processingsystem 100, such as a client computer system 102 or an applicationserver 106. Other possibilities for the computer system 200 arepossible, including a computer having capabilities other than thoseascribed herein and possibly beyond those capabilities, and they may, inother embodiments, be any combination of processing devices such asworkstations, servers, mainframe computers, notebook or laptopcomputers, desktop computers, PDAs, mobile phones, wireless devices,set-top boxes, or the like. At least certain of the components ofcomputer system 200 may be mounted on a multi-layer planar ormotherboard (which may itself be mounted on the chassis) to provide ameans for electrically interconnecting the components of the computersystem 200.

In the depicted embodiment, the computer system 200 includes a processor202, storage 204, memory 206, a user interface adapter 208, and adisplay adapter 210 connected to a bus 212. The bus 212 facilitatescommunication between the processor 202 and other components of thecomputer system 200, as well as communication between components.Processor 202 may include one or more system central processing units(CPUs) or processors to execute instructions, such as an IBM® PowerPC™processor, an Intel Pentium® processor, an Advanced Micro Devices Inc.processor or any other suitable processor. Operations of variousapplications of the spreadsheet record processing system 100, such asthe spreadsheet record processor 118, may execute on a processor 202.The processor 202 may utilize storage 204, which may be non-volatilestorage such as one or more hard drives, tape drives, diskette drives,CD-ROM drive, DVD-ROM drive, or the like. The processor 202 may also beconnected to memory 206 via bus 212, such as via a memory controller hub(MCH). System memory 206 may include volatile memory such as randomaccess memory (RAM) or double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic randomaccess memory (SDRAM).

The user interface adapter 208 may connect the processor 202 with userinterface devices such as a mouse 220 or keyboard 222. The userinterface adapter 208 may also connect with other types of user inputdevices, such as touch pads, touch sensitive screens, electronic pens,microphones, etc. Using a user input device such as a mouse 220 orkeyboard 222, a user may modify or fill out a spreadsheet and requestprocessing of the spreadsheet. The bus 212 may also connect theprocessor 202 to a display 214, such as an LCD display or CRT monitor,via the display adapter 210.

FIG. 3 depicts a conceptual illustration of software components of aspreadsheet record processor according to one embodiment. Thespreadsheet record processor 118 may execute on components of anapplication server 106 in some embodiments. In other embodiments, one ormore components of the spreadsheet record processor 118 may execute on aclient computer system 102. One of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that the components of the spreadsheet record processor 118may execute on one or more of the components of the spreadsheet recordprocessing system 100. As described previously, the spreadsheet recordprocessor 118 may be a stand-alone program or may be integrated intoanother program, such as a back-end application 116. A stand-alonespreadsheet record processor 118 may be able to interface with aplurality of back-end applications 116. In the depicted embodiment, thespreadsheet record processor 118 includes a back-end applicationinterface 302, a spreadsheet interface 304, a user interface 306, aconfiguration file database 308, a configuration file generator 310, anda processing engine 312.

The back-end application interface 302 may facilitate communication toand from any back-end applications 116 of the application server 106. Inone embodiment, for example, the back-end application interface 302 maytransmit a generated business object to the appropriate component of aback-end application 116 for processing. The back-end applicationinterface 302 may also receive information from the back-end application116 component, such as a confirmation of a successful processing or anerror message. The spreadsheet interface 304 of the spreadsheet recordprocessor 118 may facilitate access to spreadsheets, such asspreadsheets stored with a spreadsheet application 114, on a clientcomputer system 102, on database 110, or on application server 106. Insome embodiments, the spreadsheet interface 304 may receive aspreadsheet to be processed as part of a processing request transmittedover network 104. The user interface module 306 may receive user inputfrom user input devices such as a mouse 220 or keyboard 222 and may alsoprovide output to a user, such as via a display 214 or speaker. In someembodiments, the user with which the user interface module 306 interactsmay be a software engineer generating or storing configuration files.

The configuration file database 308 of the spreadsheet record processor118 may store one or more configuration files associated with differenttypes of spreadsheets. In one embodiment, each type of spreadsheet mayhave a configuration file with which it is associated. For example,specific configuration files for an HR department may exist for a newemployee spreadsheet, a terminating employee spreadsheet, a laptopspreadsheet, or any type of spreadsheet that may be utilized to enterinformation into a database. Alternatively, the configuration files maybe stored in another location instead of the configuration file database308, such as database 110.

A configuration file may include information such as an identificationof the spreadsheet type, the name of a business object that represents arecord of data in the spreadsheet, metadata for each column of thespreadsheet document, the name of the collection structure if a columnmaps to a collection of objects, the name of the back-end businesscomponent that should be invoked to process the business object, orother types of information. If the business object is composed ofanother business object, then metadata describing the composition mayalso be included in the configuration file (i.e., the fields of thechild/inner business object are also mapped to columns of thespreadsheet). The same may also be applicable to the inner/childbusiness object (i.e., it could also contain another business object).Note that in the case where a business object contains another businessobject, a record in the spreadsheet may be constituted of one or morespreadsheet rows. As an example, a user may desire to submit an updatefor a computer system using a spreadsheet to a system whose back-endprocesses require IP addresses for the computer system to be submittedsimultaneously with any updates. In this example, the spreadsheet mayhave a parent business object (the computer system) with one or more IPaddresses, each of which is also a business object. A computer systemwith multiple IP address may in this example have multiple spreadsheetrows of data, each with their own IP address. One skilled in the artwill recognize that spreadsheets compatible with the disclosed systemmay include any combination or types of records, including recursivereferencing of business objects.

The configuration file may be in any format, such as an XML (extensibleMarkup Language) format. In some embodiments, a user may utilize aconfiguration file generator 310 to generate a configuration file for atype of spreadsheet. As described in more detail in relation to FIG. 4,the configuration file generator 310 may solicit and receive input froma user regarding a particular type of spreadsheet which it may then useto generate a configuration file for the spreadsheet type, allowing itto serve as a usability tool to help a software engineer create aproperly-formatted configuration file. Alternatively, an experienceduser (such as a software engineer) could manually create a configurationfile and store it in the configuration file database 308.

The processing engine 312 of the spreadsheet record processor 118 maycreate and populate a new business object for each record of aspreadsheet. For each new business object, the processing engine 312 maypass the new business object to the appropriate back-end businesscomponent of a back-end application 116. The back-end application 116may then validate the business object or perform any business processeson it before updating its back-end database by adding or updatingdatabase records. The processing engine 312 may include an applicationinterface 314 and an object generator 316 to assist it in performing itstasks. The object generator 316 may create and populate new businessobjects based on the appropriate configuration file and the spreadsheetrecord. For example, the object generator 316 may use the configurationfile for a spreadsheet type and create a business object for each recordof the spreadsheet based on the contents of the rows that constitute therecord, using the configuration file to ‘translate’ the spreadsheetcontents into a format suitable for the back-end component. Theapplication interface 314 may take the created business objects and passthem to the specified back-end application 116 (and its particularback-end business component). The particular back-end application 116for processing records of a spreadsheet may be specified in theconfiguration file. The application interface 314 may also receivecommunications from the back-end business application 116, such asconfirmations of successful processing or error messages.

FIG. 4 depicts an example of a flow chart for generating a configurationfile according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, a configurationfile generator 310 may perform the elements of flow chart 400. In thedepicted embodiment, flow chart 400 begins with element 402, where theconfiguration file generator 310 may receive a user request to generatea configuration file for a spreadsheet type. The configuration filegenerator 310 may use, in some embodiments, a graphical user interface(GUI) to receive the request to generate a configuration file and toperform other steps of flow chart 400.

After receiving a request to create a configuration file, the method offlow chart 400 may continue to element 404, where the configuration filegenerator 310 may display to the user a request for a name of thebusiness object associated with each record of the spreadsheet type. Theconfiguration file generator 310 may next receive the name of thebusiness object from the user at element 406. The business object may beany item that represents a record of data in a spreadsheet document. Forexample, in an object-oriented language such as Java®, the businessobject would be the class name for the data transfer object that willhold the data contained in the spreadsheet record. In a language like‘C’ or its progeny, the business object may be a programming structure.The business object may accordingly be the type of object (or structure)that should be instantiated at runtime by the processing engine 312 toprocess the spreadsheet record. As an example, a spreadsheet designed toadd new employees to a Human Resources (HR) database for an organizationmay utilize an employee object as the business object for each record ofthe spreadsheet.

The configuration file generator 310 may next display to a user arequest for spreadsheet column metadata at element 408 and may thenreceive spreadsheet column metadata from the user at element 410. Themetadata for a spreadsheet column may include the name or index of thecolumn and the name of the property to set in the business object. Forexample, in Java® the name of the property to set would be the name ofthe setter method to invoke on the data transfer object. The propertyname metadata may accordingly provide for mapping of the field of aspreadsheet row to the field in a programming object. Each column mayalso be mapped to a corresponding structure that represents its type ofdata (the object type of the property to set in the business object). InJava®, for example, the object type may be the class name of theproperty to be set in the data transfer object. In this example, if thetype of object is a ‘Date’, then the name of the Data class may also bemapped to the column name. One skilled in the art will recognize thatany type of data may be used, such as text, strings, dates, integers,numbers, or other information. In the previous example of an HR newemployee spreadsheet, columns may represent data such as first name,last name, employee hire date, department, Social Security number, birthdate, or any other type of information. In this example, first name andlast name may be of type ‘string’, birth date of type ‘date’, and so on.

For spreadsheet columns that map to a collection of objects, the name ofthe collection structure may also be included in the metadata for thecolumn. The object type of the elements that should be inserted into thecollection may also be specified. In the HR new employee example, thecollection of objects could be a list of backup contacts for the newemployee, with each contact being represented by a string object. Forthe case of an object collection, a delimiter may be used when enteringthe data in the spreadsheet column (e.g., a comma or semicolon). Inanother example, a list of hostnames may be separated by a commadelimiter. In this example, a string object may be created for eachhostname and then inserted into the collection object. The collectionholding the hostnames may then be set as a property of the businessobject.

The configuration file generator 310 may then display to the user arequest for the name of the back-end business component associated withthe spreadsheet at element 412 and may receive the name at element 414.The back-end business component may be the component of a back-endapplication 116 that should be invoked by the processing engine 312 ofthe spreadsheet record processor 118 at run-time. The component name maybe the name of the actual component in some embodiments, allowing theprocessing engine 312 to access a naming server or other list toidentify the location of the component when different computer processesare being used.

Once information is received from the user, the configuration filegenerator 310 may generate a configuration file based on the receivedinformation at element 416 and may store the configuration file atelement 418, after which the method terminates. The configuration filemay be in any format, including but not limited to XML format. Theconfiguration file generator 310 may store the configuration file in anylocation, such as the configuration file database 308, on the clientcomputer system 102, or on database 110.

FIG. 5 depicts an example of a flow chart for processing a spreadsheetby creating and populating business objects for each record of thespreadsheet according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, componentsof the spreadsheet record processor 118, such as the processing engine312, may perform the elements of flow chart 500. In the depictedembodiment, flow chart 500 begins with element 502, where thespreadsheet record processor 118 may optionally receive a request toprocess the records of a spreadsheet. The request to process aspreadsheet may include the spreadsheet itself, an indication of thename or location of the spreadsheet, or other information to allow thespreadsheet record processor 118 to access the spreadsheet. In someembodiments, the user interface 306 may receive input from a userrequesting such processing. In other embodiments, the spreadsheet recordprocessor 118 may receive such a request from other components of thespreadsheet record processing system 100. In yet other embodiments, thespreadsheet record processor 118 may determine to process a particularspreadsheet based on its own internal algorithms, eliminating the needto receive a request at element 502.

The spreadsheet record processor 118 may optionally receive anindication of a configuration file associated with the spreadsheet atelement 504 and may also optionally receive information relating to theuser providing the spreadsheet at element 506. In some embodiments, theinformation received at elements 504 and 504 may be received as part ofthe request to process a spreadsheet at element 502. The indication ofthe configuration file associated with the spreadsheet may be an actualconfiguration file, a configuration file name, an indication of thespreadsheet type, a file location, or any other information. The userinformation may include a name of the user, authentication informationsuch as user id and password, or other information. Alternatively, thespreadsheet record processor 118 may determine the user information bygrabbing the information from the computing environment (i.e., if theuser logged in) or by other means. After receiving or determining theinformation, the spreadsheet record processor 118 may next access theassociated configuration file at element 508 based on the indication ofthe configuration file. For example, the spreadsheet record processor118 may receive the name or other indication of the configuration fileand access the appropriate file in the configuration file database 308.In other embodiments, the spreadsheet record processor 118 may receivethe configuration file with the request for processing. In otherembodiments, the spreadsheet record processor 118 may find theconfiguration file with the spreadsheet file.

The spreadsheet record processor 118 may next process the rows of thespreadsheet after receiving the necessary information. At element 510,the object generator 316 of the processing engine 312 may create a newbusiness object for the next record of the spreadsheet (i.e., the nextrecord of the spreadsheet that has not yet been processed). The type ofnew business object may depend on the type specified in theconfiguration file for that spreadsheet. The object generator 316 maythen access the next spreadsheet record (i.e., the next row of thespreadsheet) at element 512 and populate the new business object basedon the configuration file and the spreadsheet record at element 514. Theobject generator 316 may use information from the configuration file,such as the column metadata information and object types, to processeach row of the spreadsheet and to map the spreadsheet contents into thenewly created business object. The application interface 314 of theprocessing engine 312 may access the business object created by theobject generator 316 and pass it to the back-end business component of aback-end application 116 specified in the configuration file. Theapplication interface 314 may also pass user information, such as a nameor authentication information, to the back-end business component sothat such access is authorized. Alternatively, the name orauthentication information may be included in the business object. Theback-end business component may process the business object using itsvalidation and/or business processes logic, such as by processing thebusiness object into a back-end database. By creating a business objectsuitable for a back-end business component, the validation and businessprocesses logic of the back-end business component may advantageously beutilized without the necessity of creating database-layer equivalentlogic. The back-end business component may process each business objectas if they were submitted manually through its user interface.

If processing of the record by the back-end business component issuccessful and no error occurs at decision block 518, the spreadsheetrecord processor 118 determines at decision block 522 if there are moreentries, or rows, of the spreadsheet to be processed. If there are morerows (as determined at decision block 522), the method of flow chart 500returns to element 510 for processing of the next record. In thisfashion, each record in a spreadsheet may be sequentially processed andpassed to the appropriate back-end business component. Once all recordsof the spreadsheet have been processed, the method of flow chart 500 maythen terminate.

If an error in processing does occur at decision block 518, thespreadsheet record processor 118 may optionally handle such error. Anerror may occur if, for example, the back-end business componentdetermines that the business object has incomplete or incorrectinformation, the user is not authorized, or any other violations of thevalidation or business processes logic. The back-end business componentmay transmit an indication of the error (or optionally a confirmation ofno errors) to the application interface 314 of the processing engine312. The spreadsheet record processor 118 may optionally generate anindication of the error at element 520. In some embodiments, theindication of the error may include saving any records into aspreadsheet that may be e-mailed or otherwise transmitted to theoriginating user. The original user may then make corrections to thespreadsheet and then resubmit the spreadsheet to the spreadsheet recordprocessing system 100. In these embodiments, another document (which mayalso be provided to the user) may contain the specifics of the errorinformation on the records that could not be processed. In otherembodiments, all error information may be located in the same documentor provided in another fashion, such as print-out, e-mail message, or apop-up window in a GUI.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of theinvention, may be part of an operating system or a specific application,component, program, module, object, or sequence of instructions. Thecomputer program of the present invention typically is comprised of amultitude of instructions that will be translated by the native computerinto a machine-readable format and hence executable instructions. Also,programs are comprised of variables and data structures that eitherreside locally to the program or are found in memory or on storagedevices. In addition, various programs described hereinafter may beidentified based upon the application for which they are implemented ina specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should beappreciated that any particular program nomenclature that follows isused merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not belimited to use solely in any specific application identified and/orimplied by such nomenclature.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure that the present invention contemplates methods,systems, and media for processing records of a spreadsheet. It isunderstood that the form of the invention shown and described in thedetailed description and the drawings are to be taken merely asexamples. It is intended that the following claims be interpretedbroadly to embrace all the variations of the example embodimentsdisclosed.

1. A method for processing records of a spreadsheet, the methodcomprising: receiving a request to process a spreadsheet for storage ina database, the spreadsheet having a plurality of records; accessing aconfiguration file associated with the spreadsheet; and for each recordof the spreadsheet, creating a new business object and populating thenew business object based on the record and the configuration fileassociated with the spreadsheet; and passing each new business object toa back-end business component.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising before accessing the configuration file, generating theconfiguration file for the spreadsheet.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising before generating the configuration file for thespreadsheet, receiving one or more of a name of a business objectassociated with a record of the spreadsheet, metadata for one or morecolumns of the spreadsheet, and a name of a back-end business componentassociated with the spreadsheet.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising generating an indication of an error in passing the newbusiness object to the back-end business component.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the request to process the spreadsheetcomprises receiving information relating to a user associated with thespreadsheet.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request toprocess the spreadsheet comprises receiving an indication of aconfiguration file associated with the spreadsheet.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the configuration file associated with the spreadsheetcomprises one or more of a name of a business object associated witheach record of the spreadsheet, metadata for one or more columns of thespreadsheet, and a name of a back-end business component associated withthe spreadsheet.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the newbusiness object comprises accessing a next spreadsheet record.
 9. Amachine-accessible medium containing instructions effective, whenexecuting in a data processing system, to cause said data processingsystem to perform operations comprising: receiving a request to processa spreadsheet for storage in a database, the spreadsheet having aplurality of records; accessing a configuration file associated with thespreadsheet; and for each record of the spreadsheet, creating a newbusiness object and populating the new business object based on therecord and the configuration file associated with the spreadsheet; andpassing each new business object to a back-end business component. 10.The machine-accessible medium of claim 9, further comprising beforeaccessing the configuration file, generating the configuration file forthe spreadsheet.
 11. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10, furthercomprising before generating the configuration file for the spreadsheet,receiving one or more of a name of a business object associated with arow of the spreadsheet, metadata for one or more columns of thespreadsheet, and a name of a back-end business component associated withthe spreadsheet.
 12. The machine-accessible medium of claim 9, furthercomprising generating an indication of an error in passing the newbusiness object to the back-end business component.
 13. Themachine-accessible medium of claim 9, wherein receiving the request toprocess the spreadsheet comprises receiving information relating to auser associated with the spreadsheet.
 14. The machine-accessible mediumof claim 9, wherein receiving the request to process the spreadsheetcomprises receiving an indication of a configuration file associatedwith the spreadsheet.
 15. The machine-accessible medium of claim 9,wherein the configuration file associated with the spreadsheet comprisesone or more of a name of a business object associated with a row of thespreadsheet, metadata for one or more columns of the spreadsheet, and aname of a back-end business component associated with the spreadsheet.16. The machine-accessible medium of claim 9, wherein creating the newbusiness object comprises accessing a next spreadsheet record.
 17. Aspreadsheet record processing system, the system comprising: aspreadsheet interface to access a spreadsheet having one or morerecords; a configuration file database having a configuration fileassociated with the spreadsheet, the configuration file havinginformation relating to processing of the spreadsheet; a processingengine in communication with the configuration file database and thespreadsheet interface, the processing engine being adapted to create andpopulate a new business object based on one of the spreadsheet recordsand the configuration file associated with the spreadsheet; and aback-end application interface in communication with the processingengine to pass the created new business object to a back-end businesscomponent of a back-end application.
 18. The system of claim 17, furthercomprising a configuration file generator in communication with theconfiguration file database, the configuration file generator beingadapted to generate and store a configuration file for a spreadsheetbased on inputs received from a user.
 19. The system of claim 17,wherein the configuration file associated with the spreadsheet comprisesone or more of a name of a business object associated with a row of thespreadsheet, metadata for one or more columns of the spreadsheet, and aname of a back-end business component associated with the spreadsheet.20. The system of claim 17, wherein the processing engine is furtheradapted to receive a request to process a particular spreadsheet.